Do you need an HMO licence?

In England, mandatory HMO licensing is usually triggered by five or more occupiers in two or more households, but Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use materially different tests. Local additional and selective licensing can make a property licensable even when national mandatory HMO licensing does not apply.

When does a property need a mandatory HMO licence?

In England, a property needs a mandatory HMO licence when it is an HMO occupied by five or more people who form two or more households, regardless of whether it has one, two, three or more storeys. The English mandatory licensing Order says the prescribed HMO “is occupied by five or more persons” and “is occupied by persons living in two or more separate households”; the same Order is expressly England-only: “This Order applies in relation to an HMO in England.” That means five unrelated people renting five individual rooms in one house will normally trigger mandatory HMO licensing in England, and a 5-bed HMO is not outside the scheme just because it has fewer than three storeys. The old storey limit was removed in England from 1 October 2018: “mandatory licensing will no longer be limited to certain HMOs that are three or more storeys high, but will also include buildings with one or two storeys.”

Do you need an HMO licence for two, three or four tenants?

In England, two tenants do not make a licensable HMO, while three or four tenants do not need a national mandatory HMO licence but may need an additional HMO licence if the council has designated that type of small HMO. The two-person rule is stronger than a mere exemption from mandatory licensing: the Housing Act 2004 excludes from HMO status, for licensing purposes, “Any building which is occupied only by two persons who form two households.” For three or four occupiers, the national mandatory threshold is still five, because the English Order applies where the HMO “is occupied by five or more persons”; however, councils can extend licensing locally, because additional licensing may apply “to all HMOs in the area in question.” A 4-bed student let is therefore not automatically mandatory-licensable in England, but small HMOs are increasingly caught by local schemes; Oxford, for example, says “HMOs with 3 or 4 tenants” fall under its additional scheme.

Does letting on a single joint tenancy avoid HMO licensing?

Letting to unrelated occupiers on one joint tenancy does not avoid HMO licensing in England if the occupiers do not form a single household and the relevant national or local licensing threshold is met. The Housing Act 2004 test looks at occupation, not the number of tenancy agreements: an HMO includes accommodation where “the living accommodation is occupied by persons who do not form a single household.” The same Act says people are treated as not forming one household unless “they are all members of the same family” or fall within prescribed circumstances. So five unrelated friends on a single joint tenancy can still be five occupiers in more than one household for HMO licensing. North Somerset states the practical point plainly: “five friends are five households, even if they share a tenancy.” The tenancy structure may matter for rent collection or deposit administration, but it is not a licensing shortcut.

Do you need a licence if your council runs an additional or selective scheme?

Yes: in England, a property may need a licence under an additional HMO licensing scheme or a selective licensing scheme even when it does not meet the national mandatory HMO threshold. Additional licensing is how councils bring smaller HMOs, often three- or four-person sharer houses, into licensing: the Housing Act 2004 allows a local housing authority to designate an area so that Part 2 applies to HMOs in that designation. Selective licensing is different: government guidance says, “Landlords who rent out properties in an area that is subject to selective licensing are required to obtain a licence from the local authority for each of their properties.” A property should not normally need both a selective licence and a Part 2 HMO licence, because Part 3 excludes a house where “it is an HMO to which Part 2 applies.” The repeated £10,000 unlicensed-HMO fine is wrong for the Housing Act offence: the statute says the offender is “liable on summary conviction to a fine,” with no statutory cap stated there.

How do you check whether a property already has an HMO licence?

In England and Wales, check the local council’s HMO licence register, because the legal register is held by the local housing authority and there is no single national HMO licence database. The Housing Act 2004 requires the council to keep register contents available: “The authority must ensure that the contents of the register are available at the authority’s head office for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times.” Many councils publish online HMO registers, but the online version may not show everything in progress; the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea warns that “Applications that are currently being processed will not appear.” In London, the GLA postcode checker can help identify whether a privately rented home should have a property licence, but the borough’s register is still the place to check whether a licence already exists. Absence from a web search is not the same as proof that no application or licence exists.

Who is exempt from HMO licensing?

In England and Wales, the main HMO licensing exclusions are buildings listed in Schedule 14 to the Housing Act 2004, including two-person properties and some resident-landlord arrangements. The Act states that, except for Part 1 housing-health purposes, a building “is not a house in multiple occupation if it is listed in Schedule 14.” A property occupied only by two people in two households is listed there: “Any building which is occupied only by two persons who form two households.” A resident freeholder or long leaseholder can also take up to two lodgers before the Schedule 14 owner-occupier exclusion is exceeded in England, because the prescribed number is two. A temporary exemption notice is different: it does not mean the property is not an HMO, but it suspends the licensing duty while it lasts; the Act says the house is “not required to be licensed either under this Part or under Part 3 during the period for which the notice is in force.”

Does a section 257 HMO need a licence?

A section 257 HMO does not need a national mandatory HMO licence in England, but it can need a licence if the council’s additional licensing designation includes section 257 converted blocks. The English 2018 mandatory licensing Order says it “does not apply to converted blocks of flats, to which section 257 of the Act applies.” That is the national mandatory position. The local position is different because the Housing Act 2004 brings within Part 2, in an additional licensing area, “any HMO in that area which falls within any description of HMO specified in the designation.” Some councils deliberately include converted blocks, and the designation can be narrower than the section 257 definition. In Camden, for example, secondary licensing analysis reports that the council is “restricting the licensing of such properties to situations where less than half the flats are owner occupied.” The safe check is therefore the council’s additional licensing designation, not just the national mandatory rules.

Do you need an HMO licence in Scotland?

In Scotland, an HMO licence is needed for accommodation occupied by three or more people from three or more families as their only or main residence, unless a statutory exemption applies. The Scottish Act sets the duty broadly: “Every house in multiple occupation (‘HMO’) must be licensed under this Part unless it is exempted by or under section 126, 127 or 142.” Scottish Government guidance summarises the threshold as follows: “Mandatory HMO licensing applies to houses occupied by three or more persons, from three or more families, as their only or main residence.” That is a materially lower occupier threshold than England’s national mandatory five-person test, so landlords in Scotland should not rely on English HMO licensing rules. Running an unlicensed Scottish HMO is a criminal offence, and the statutory penalty for the main offence is severe: the fine is “£50,000.” Scottish councils set their own application fees, and GOV.UK says, “You will have to pay a fee which is set by the council.”

Do you need an HMO licence in Wales?

In Wales, a mandatory HMO licence still requires the Welsh three-storey test as well as five or more occupiers in two or more households, so Wales did not follow England’s 2018 removal of the storey condition. This matters because GOV.UK’s guidance says, “You must have a licence if you’re renting out a large HMO in England or Wales,” which can imply the same five-person any-storey rule applies in both nations; the Welsh Order governs Wales and says the HMO must comprise “three storeys or more” and be “occupied by five or more persons.” Local Welsh authorities may still run additional licensing schemes, so a smaller or lower-rise HMO can be licensable locally even when it is not mandatory-licensable under the Welsh prescribed description. Welsh landlords also have a separate registration duty under Rent Smart Wales: the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 says the landlord of a dwelling let under a domestic tenancy “must be registered under this Part.”

Do you need an HMO licence in Northern Ireland?

In Northern Ireland, every HMO must be licensed if it is occupied by three or more people as their only or main residence and those people form more than two households, unless a temporary exemption notice applies. The Northern Ireland Act says, “Every house in multiple occupation (‘HMO’) must be licensed under this Act (unless a temporary exemption notice under section 15 is in effect in respect of it).” The definition requires that the building “is occupied by 3 or more persons as their only or main residence” and that “those persons form more than two households.” That is stricter on household count than GOV.UK’s simplified Northern Ireland wording that refers to “more than one ‘household’”; the Act’s more-than-two-households test governs. Applications are centralised administratively through Belfast City Council even when the property is elsewhere, because GOV.UK says, “You need to apply for your licence online through Belfast City Council - even if the property is in a different council.”

What are the requirements for an HMO licence?

In England, an HMO licence application is made to the local housing authority, which fixes the fee, sets conditions and may grant a licence for up to five years. The Housing Act 2004 provides that an HMO licence period “must not end more than 5 years” after the relevant grant date, and it allows the authority to require “a fee fixed by the authority.” The core licensing requirements are not just paperwork: the council assesses suitability of the property, management arrangements and the licence holder, then imposes licence conditions. In Northern Ireland the statutory wording is more explicit in the application test: the owner must apply, the HMO use must not breach planning control, and “the owner of the living accommodation, and any managing agent of it, are fit and proper persons.” Abodient can hold each property’s licence record and compliance documents with expiry alerts, which matters because HMO licensing failures are usually deadline and evidence failures rather than a landlord forgetting what an HMO is.

What certificates do you need for an HMO?

In England and Wales, an HMO licence must require a gas safety certificate each year if gas is supplied, and the usual supporting compliance file should also include the electrical safety report and fire-safety documents required by general housing and HMO management law. Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 2004 requires licence conditions “if gas is supplied to the house” for the licence holder to produce “annually for their inspection a gas safety certificate obtained in respect of the house within the last 12 months.” Separately, gas appliances and flues must be checked “at intervals of not more than 12 months.” In England, electrical inspection and testing must be done “at intervals of no more than 5 years” unless the report requires an earlier date. A PAT certificate is not a national statutory requirement for private HMOs in England or Wales, although some application processes and Northern Ireland councils ask for one; Belfast’s HMO application list includes a “Current Portable Appliance Test (PAT) certificate.”

When did HMO licensing start?

In England, HMO licensing under the Housing Act 2004 started on 6 April 2006, but there is no single UK-wide HMO licensing start date. The English commencement Order defines the “first commencement date” as “6th April 2006,” and the original English prescribed-description Order also came into force on “6th April 2006.” Wales followed a different timetable: the Welsh commencement date for Part 2 provisions was “16 June 2006,” while the Welsh prescribed-description Order came into force on “30 June 2006.” Scotland’s history is older and more layered: discretionary HMO licensing powers began on “3rd June 1991,” mandatory licensing was introduced by a stepped regime starting “1st October 2000,” and the current 2006 Act Part 5 licensing framework commenced on “31st August 2011.” Northern Ireland had HMO registration from “1st January 2004,” but its current licensing regime commenced on “1st April 2019.”

What are the new HMO rules?

In England, the biggest modern HMO rule change was on 1 October 2018, when mandatory licensing stopped being limited to HMOs of three or more storeys and began applying to one- and two-storey HMOs with five or more occupiers in two or more households. Government guidance says, “From 1 October 2018, mandatory licensing will no longer be limited to certain HMOs that are 3 or more storeys high, but will also include buildings with 1 or 2 storeys.” The 2018 English rules also introduced minimum sleeping-room licence conditions, including that a room used by one person aged over 10 must be “not less than 6.51 square metres”; the often-repeated 6.5 m² figure is a rounded press-line, not the legal figure. Wales is the trap: GOV.UK still presents large-HMO licensing for England and Wales together, but the Welsh Order still requires “three storeys or more.” A newer England-and-Wales change from 1 May 2026 extends unlicensed-HMO offence provisions to superior landlords.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2018 art.4 — “(a)is occupied by five or more persons;” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2018 art.4 — “(b)is occupied by persons living in two or more separate households; and” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2018 art.2 — “This Order applies in relation to an HMO in England.” Source
• MHCLG HMO licensing reforms guidance — “From 1 October 2018, mandatory licensing will no longer be limited to certain HMOs that are three or more storeys high, but will also include buildings with one or two storeys.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 Sch.14 para.7 — “Any building which is occupied only by two persons who form two households.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.56 — “The power to make a designation under this section may be exercised in such a way that this Part applies to all HMOs in the area in question.” Source
• Oxford City Council additional HMO licensing scheme — “HMOs with 3 or 4 tenants or HMOs that are classed as section 257 HMOs fall under this scheme.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.254 — “(b)the living accommodation is occupied by persons who do not form a single household (see section 258);” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.258 — “Persons are to be regarded as not forming a single household unless—” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.258 — “(a)they are all members of the same family, or” Source
• North Somerset Council HMO licensing guidance — “For example, five friends are five households, even if they share a tenancy, and a co-habiting couple and a friend would constitute two households.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.61 — “Every HMO to which this Part applies must be licensed under this Part unless—” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.56 — “A local housing authority may designate either—” Source
• Selective licensing in the private rented sector: a guide for local authorities — “Landlords who rent out properties in an area that is subject to selective licensing are required to obtain a licence from the local authority for each of their properties.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.85 — “(a)it is an HMO to which Part 2 applies (see section 55(2)), or” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.95 — “A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.232 — “The authority must ensure that the contents of the register are available at the authority’s head office for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable times.” Source
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea public HMO register — “Applications that are currently being processed will not appear.” Source
• London Property Licence Checker — “Enter your postcode below to find out whether your privately rented home should have a property licence.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.254 — “But for any purposes of this Act (other than those of Part 1) a building or part of a building within subsection (1) is not a house in multiple occupation if it is listed in Schedule 14.” Source
• Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation and Other Houses (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2006 reg.6 — “The number of persons specified for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(c) of Schedule 14 to the Act is two.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.62 — “If a temporary exemption notice is served under this section, the house is (in accordance with sections 61(1) and 85(1)) not required to be licensed either under this Part or under Part 3 during the period for which the notice is in force.” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2018 — “The Order applies to HMOs in England but does not apply to converted blocks of flats, to which section 257 of the Act applies.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.55 — “(b)if an area is for the time being designated by the authority under section 56 as subject to additional licensing, any HMO in that area which falls within any description of HMO specified in the designation.” Source
• London Property Licensing Camden guide — “The council are restricting the licensing of such properties to situations where less than half the flats are owner occupied.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.124 — “Every house in multiple occupation (“HMO”) must be licensed under this Part unless it is exempted by or under section 126, 127 or 142.” Source
• Scottish Government HMO consultation — “Mandatory HMO licensing applies to houses occupied by three or more persons, from three or more families, as their only or main residence.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.156 — “(a)in the case of an offence under subsection (1) or (4)(a) of that section, £50,000,” Source
• GOV.UK HMO licence Scotland — “You will have to pay a fee which is set by the council.” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (Wales) Order 2006 art.3 — “(a)the HMO or any part of it comprises three storeys or more;” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (Wales) Order 2006 art.3 — “(b)it is occupied by five or more persons; and” Source
• GOV.UK HMO licence guidance — “You must have a licence if you’re renting out a large HMO in England or Wales.” Source
• Housing (Wales) Act 2014 s.4 — “The landlord of a dwelling subject to, or marketed or offered for let under, a domestic tenancy must be registered under this Part in respect of the dwelling (see sections 14 to 17), unless an exception in section 5 applies.” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 s.7 — “Every house in multiple occupation (“HMO”) must be licensed under this Act (unless a temporary exemption notice under section 15 is in effect in respect of it).” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 s.1 — “(b)it is occupied by 3 or more persons as their only or main residence (see section 3),” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 s.1 — “(c)those persons form more than two households (see section 4), and” Source
• GOV.UK HMO licence Northern Ireland — “The tenants must be from more than one ‘household’ for it to be an HMO - a couple or a family count as a single household in an HMO.” Source
• GOV.UK HMO licence Northern Ireland — “You need to apply for your licence online through Belfast City Council - even if the property is in a different council.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.68 — “(4)That period must not end more than 5 years after—” Source
• Housing Act 2004 s.63 — “The authority may, in particular, require the application to be accompanied by a fee fixed by the authority.” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 s.8 — “An application for an HMO licence is to be made to the council by the owner of the living accommodation in question.” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 s.8 — “(a)the occupation of the living accommodation as an HMO would not constitute a breach of planning control (see section 9);” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 s.8 — “(b)the owner of the living accommodation, and any managing agent of it, are fit and proper persons (see section 10);” Source
• Housing Act 2004 Sch.4 para.1 — “Conditions requiring the licence holder, if gas is supplied to the house, to produce to the local housing authority annually for their inspection a gas safety certificate obtained in respect of the house within the last 12 months.” Source
• Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 reg.36 — “(a)ensure that each appliance and flue to which that duty extends is checked for safety within 12 months of being installed and at intervals of not more than 12 months since it was last checked for safety (whether such check was made pursuant to these Regulations or not ; and see regulation 36A);” Source
• Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 reg.3 — “(a)at intervals of no more than 5 years; or” Source
• Belfast City Council HMO guide — “Current Portable Appliance Test (PAT) certificate” Source
• Housing Act 2004 (Commencement No.5 and Transitional Provisions and Savings) (England) Order 2006 art.1 — “(c)“the first commencement date” means 6th April 2006;” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2006 art.1 — “This Order may be cited as The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (England) Order 2006 and shall come into force on 6th April 2006.” Source
• Housing Act 2004 (Commencement No. 5 and Transitional Provisions and Savings) (Wales) Order 2006 art.1 — “(c)“the commencement date” (“y dyddiad cychwyn”) means 16 June 2006; and” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (Wales) Order 2006 art.1 — “The title of this Order is The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Descriptions) (Wales) Order 2006 and it comes into force on 30 June 2006.” Source
• Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Order 1991 art.1 — “This Order may be cited as the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Order 1991 and shall come into force on 3rd June 1991.” Source
• Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Order 2000 explanatory note — “The Order introduces, by a stepped process (article 5), the licensing regime starting at 1st October 2000 where it will apply to houses occupied by 6 or more persons, being members of more than 2 families (“qualifying persons”).” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Commencement No. 8 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2010 art.3 — “The day appointed for the coming into force of the provisions of the 2006 Act specified in Column 1 of the Table below is 31st August 2011, but where a particular purpose is specified in relation to any provision in Column 2, that provision comes into force on that day only for that purpose.” Source
• Housing (2003 Order) (Commencement No.3) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003 art.2 — “Articles 122 and 144 of and Schedule 3 to the 2003 Order shall come into operation on 1st January 2004” Source
• Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Commencement No.2) Order (Northern Ireland) 2019 art.2 — “1st April 2019 is the appointed day for the coming into operation of the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 in so far as it is not already in operation.” Source
• MHCLG HMO licensing reform guidance — “From 1 October 2018, mandatory licensing will no longer be limited to certain HMOs that are 3 or more storeys high, but will also include buildings with 1 or 2 storeys.” Source
• Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of Licences) (England) Regulations 2018 reg.2 — “(a)to ensure that the floor area of any room in the HMO used as sleeping accommodation by one person aged over 10 years is not less than 6.51 square metres;” Source
• GOV.UK press notice on new rental rules — “Under the new rules, all bedrooms must be at least 6.5 square metres and councils must ensure tenants have suitable space to store their rubbish outside homes.” Source
• Renters’ Rights Act 2025 s.105 — “I2 S. 105 in force at 1.5.2026 by S.I. 2026/421, reg. 3(l)” Source